Why Armenians are successful everywhere except Armenia

Armenia's current emigration rate of 4-5% of the whole
population annually is the highest in the world. Considering the dire political and economic situation in the country, should we really be surprised?

One of my
American colleagues who lives in Boston and always keeps in touch with the
local Armenians, last year visited Armenia as a volunteer firmly intending to
assist in fixing some social problems in Armenia. After working for more than a
month in Armenia we finally met just before his departure to the USA.

He was
sad and perplexed. “I know many Armenians living in Boston, New York and New
Jersey,” he said, “they are very successful in their respective fields and live
safe and prosperous lives. Many of them emigrated from Armenia during the last
15–20 years; and I treat the Armenians with
admiration.

Now, when I have visited various towns and villages in Armenia,
met people, listened to them about their and the country's problems, I'm just
stunned. How is it possible that a country with such a talented and
hard-working people, and such a diverse diaspora that sends billions of dollars
to Armenia every year, can remain so underdeveloped and poor?”

Indeed,
Armenia was well-known in the Soviet Union for its highly skilled
population, its industrial, scientific and educational potential, and its
healthcare. Now Armenia has become one of the poorest countries in the world.
The average monthly salary in Armenia is $370 (USD), the average monthly
pension is $90, and 20% of children under five years old have health problems
caused by undernourishment.

Every investor planning a significant project in the country is obliged to donate a substantial portion of its investment to the current president's family in order to be able to operate without obstruction.

The economy is suffering under the yoke of the
local oligarchs and Russian monopolies. The authorities have signed many
disgraceful agreements with Russia, which force Armenians to buy gas and oil
exclusively from Russia at the highest price possible, when oil and gas prices have
fallen elsewhere in the world.

There is no
serious local or foreign investment in Armenia not only because of the unfavourable
economic conditions (some patriotic Armenians from the diaspora are ready to
make substantial investments even in these conditions), but also because of the
unwritten laws of systemic corruption. Every investor planning a significant
project in the country is obliged to donate a substantial portion of its
investment to the current president's family in order to be able to operate
without obstruction. For example, the current president’s
brother, Sashik Sargsyan, is known in Armenia as Mr. “50%.”

The systemic injustices
and illegalities in Armenia, as well as the alienation of ordinary citizens
from their own country's government, have led to widespread apathy and despair.
People, who could develop Armenia, are leaving the country for Russia, Europe,
USA, Ukraine, Canada and Australia. The current emigration rate of 4–5% of the
whole population annually is the highest in the world and is simply disastrous.
During the 25 years of Armenia's independence, more than 2 million people left
the country, almost the same number of people who remain there today. Moreover,
half of those emigrants left Armenia in the last 8 years, during Serzh Sargsyan’s
presidency.

The
government, through sophisticated and unlawful practices, has left the country’s
citizens bare-handed in face of a mighty criminal gang that has seized power in
Armenia. The people cannot affect this situation in any way and their participation
in the elections serves as a smokescreen for the ruling clan to demonstrate
formal conformity with the democratic standards imposed in Armenia by the West
after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is difficult to find another country
in the world, where the ruling party has so many members with mafia-style
nicknames

Today the authorities promote puppet “pro-western” parties, which are fully under its control.

On February
2013 the West turned a blind eye to the reproduction of Serzh Sargsyan’s power
through massive electoral fraud, as Sargsyan had promised to sign the
Association Agreement with the EU. But the previous four years of
successful negotiation process with the EU was not a classic episode of the Eastern
Partnership but rather a vivid example of eastern cunning aimed at getting
support from the West during upcoming presidential elections.

The post-election
protest campaign, organized by Raffi K. Hovannisian, who was actually elected
as a president by absolute majority, was denied any political support from the
West and gradually faded away. Just four months after the demise of this
powerful anti-governmental movement, Serzh Sargsyan not only refused to sign
the Association Agreement with the EU, but during his meeting with Putin in the
Kremlin made a solemn pledge to integrate Armenia into the Russia-led Eurasian
Economic Union (EEU).

It is noteworthy that Raffi Hovannisian’s
"Heritage" party was the only one, whose faction in the Parliament
voted against Armenia's integration to the EEU. As a result the authorities
worked incessantly to exacerbate the rivalries within the party and its
parliamentary faction and eventually to eviscerate it. Now the parliamentary
faction of the "Heritage" party essentially has only one member
instead of its previous five. Today the authorities promote puppet
“pro-western” parties, which are fully under its control.

On December
6, 2015, Serzh Sargsyan called a referendum on constitutional
"reforms" and laid the groundwork to reinforce and perpetuate his
power in a weakened Armenia. Currently in his second and final term as
President, these changes are designed to enable him to retain power as Prime
Minister or Speaker of the Parliament. No wonder that the results of the
referendum were rigged. Thanks to the opposition and civil society efforts, the
law enforcement authorities have had to file dozens of criminal cases on
numerous electoral frauds during the referendum.

None of these criminal
proceedings have been initiated as a result of the intervention by the Police
or National Security Service. And this all happened despite the fact that the
opposition parties are not funded from any sources, except the annual state
financial subsidy of a mere 7–10 thousand dollars, which is provided by law (other
sources of opposition financing, such as financial backing from business
sector, are strictly forbidden, and carry penalties for the sponsors that
can lead to their bankruptcy: we have such examples).

But even the court cases
of the criminals who rigged the results of the referendum bring no results as
they are released one-by-one after simply paying small fines; in fact the
maximum punishment for such an offense as state capture in Armenia is a fine of
$ 1000. And even if some will be imprisoned, certainly very soon they will be
released under amnesty, granted by their main customer, the president, as has
happened during the last years of independent Armenia.

Thus, in
Armenia catching criminals and handing them over to be tried and punished is
the direct responsibility of the opposition and civil society, while the
absolute right of the authorities is to release those criminals, who will continue
to falsify elections, capture the state, plunder the state budget, and simply sending
to prison those who actively resist these electoral crimes. There are 13
political prisoners in Armenia today. This fact has been unanimously accepted
not only by the opposition and human rights organizations, but also in Eastern
Partnership Civil Society Forum, which has urged Armenia’s authorities to
release them many times.

The reaction
of the West to the rigged referendum last December compared to the 2013
presidential election was tougher. The West, through the US Ambassador
and the Head of EU Delegation to Armenia have demanded the punishment all the
criminals, who committed electoral fraud, and prepare an electoral code with
the involvement of civil society and the opposition, and thus take steps
to restore public trust towards the electoral system.

But these statements have
made little difference. Recently the Government of Armenia received a “yellow
card”: on March 18, a few days after the publication of authorities’
anti-democratic draft of the Electoral Code, "Moody's" downgraded
Armenia's long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings from Ba3 to B1.

But the
debate on the Electoral Code in Armenia shows that, even with pressure from the
West the authorities will not be pushed to accept any real reform of the
Electoral Code for one simple reason - election laws, which guarantee free and
legitimate elections, will be the end of their power.

Many people in Armenia have been excited about the popular revolution in Maidan...

And any government elected
by the people will uncover a long series of the economic and criminal offences,
such as the mass shooting at the Parliament in 1999, the murder of 10 peaceful
demonstrators in 2008, the falsification of at least 5 presidential elections,
the extradition of a huge section of Armenia's economy to Russia for a low,
sometimes symbolic, price, and the continual looting of the state treasury.

But if until
recently Armenia’s democratic society has had no hope of a regime change in the
country, now, in the light of economic and geopolitical weakening of the Serzh Sargsyan's
main sponsor Kremlin, such hopes are beginning to revive. The opposition,
supported by the civil society, will try to change the government for the first
time in the history of Armenia and to establish a democratic regime.

In this
regard, the situation has a number of similarities with that of Ukraine, and
the current president of Armenia resembles President Yanukovych, the former
ruler of Ukraine. Serzh Sargsyan enjoys the support of only 7–8% of the population
and is widely mistrusted by the general public.

The Yanukovych precedent is
instructive, particularly since many people in Armenia have been excited about
the popular revolution in Maidan, as they were in 2011 about the Arab Spring. In
Armenia the more or less positive attitude towards Russia that has existed for
20 years is taking some sharp turns.

The only factor that still keeps Armenia
in Kremlin's orbit is the Turkish-Azerbaijani threat, expressed, on one hand,
through the ongoing illegal blockade of Armenia by Turkey as well as the
refusal by Ankara to ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols, signed under the
auspices of the USA, EU and Russia.

On the other hand, there are the statements
by the leadership of Azerbaijan about the possibility of conquering the
self-determined Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (the last one, by
the way, according to the Freedom House index “Freedom in the world”, has much more democratic political system
and more liberal economy than Azerbaijan). But even
these factors will be unlikely to hold back the people when the last drop will
overflow their cup of patience.

"It is
enough to establish legitimate government in Armenia based on the people’s
choice, and I am sure, that Armenia will blossom in a short time," said my
American friend before leaving.

Armenians
hope that this day is not so far.

NOTE: The article was written before
the beginning of the four-day war in Karabakh at the beginning of April.

About the author

Hovsep Khurshudyan is President of the "Free Citizen" Civic Initiatives Support Centre, based in Yerevan, Armenia. He also a coordinator of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) Working Group 4 “Contacts Between People,” a member of the Steering Committee of the Forum since 2014, as well as Steering Committee member of the EU-EaP “Culture and Creativity” Program. He is also director of the “Arax” Publishing House LLC, Yerevan. Hovsep is the author of numerous articles and research papers.

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